


The crushing pressure on a teenage superhero

by Llilii



Category: Spider-Man (Ultimateverse), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Attempt at Humor, Crack, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, H - Freeform, Humor, Identity Reveal, Irony, M/M, idea that came to me at 3am, miles is my sonflower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-04 06:18:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17299346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llilii/pseuds/Llilii
Summary: Miles tries to tell his parents that he’s Spiderman but they think he has a crush on him instead.





	1. Chapter 1

     Spiderman doesn’t chicken out. He’s an unstoppable, crimefighting, superpowered force of justice that always, always gets back up. No matter how many punches have been thrown at him, not matter how bruised and battered his body feels, no matter how many times villains ridicule his diminished stature he never. Ever. Runs. Away. Dangling in front of danger’s jaws by a single thread _is_ his whole trademark after all. As the new certified Spiderman and son of Rio and Jefferson Davis he has to carry on both legacies. No Running Away. Take That Leap of Faith. Tell His Parents That He’s Spiderman. Tell his parents that he’s Spiderman???

“Ganke…I can’t do it” he whispers with a desperate, pleading edge to his voice. His roommate barely looks up to the webcam as he refines his quantum entanglement thesis.

“You’re Spiderman. I’m sure you can handle it or New York is doomed.” Miles blinks.  
“What? I’m not going up against some bad guy I’m talking about telling my parents that…telling my _cop_ dad who has a very clear anti-vigilantism stance and my _nurse_ mum who frets over every little scratch on me that I’m _Spiderman_. The new superhero who throws himself into burning buildings and uses his body to stop buses full of children from toppling off bridges!”  
“Yeah, I saw on the news. That was pretty awesome.” Miles feels slightly bummed at that statement – it was _super_ awesome. The hardest part was acting chill once he put the bus to rest like he wasn’t about to start whooping from the thrill of succeeding.

     When they first met, Ganke was mostly indifferent to him, but from his wall of Spiderman merch Miles decided that 1. That guy totally suffered from spidermania and 2. was clearly the best person to help cover him up. Thankfully no regrets there. Well, maybe Miles regrets letting his roommate find out how much of a goof Spiderman really is because he missed those slightly star struck eyes and those shy but enthusiastic agreements whenever Miles asked him to help him cover his absence from classes. Now they’re back to treating each other like regular roommates except one could turn invisible and climb walls.

     Flash-forward a couple more months and they’ve developed an unbreakable bond that’s slowly turning itself into a ride or die pact (except for those few days leading up to exam deadlines in which it’s every man for themselves. Sometimes school systems shared those eerie resemblances to post-apocalyptic wastelands where some nights you would walk around at 2am to try relax your nerves except then you find that some people bypassed the library security to huddle around computers wrapped in blankets and feverishly whisper memorised lines or formulas over and over again. Miles just tried to avoid that entire area in general the next few nights). End point: Ganke was his best friend. They confided everything to each other. He’d seen Miles emotionally vulnerable and injured many times over before and…never pushed for any information. Just offered his presence and whatever comforting words he could think of.

“You should tell them. So they aren’t completely blindsided if anything happens to you…or them.” Ganke stops typing for a second, a rare occasion, and actually looks at him. “Like… that time I almost got kidnapped but you warned me directly before the guy arrived at school. We had gone over procedures so I immediately and almost instinctively knew how to deal with it. Then you beat the guy up in the security guard’s office which I’m still certain was also part of your plan…?” Miles shrugs but his blink-and-you’d-miss self-satisfied expression gives it away. Ganke grins at him and they both share a quiet laugh at the memory.

“Yeah… I’ll tell them before dinner. Thanks Ganke.”  
“No problem bro.”  
“And wish me luck!” Ganke snorts.  
“Yeah of course. Did that spider somehow give you a bad luck modifier because your life is a mess and a half. It’s super awesome though. Okay, now stop distracting me I have to finish my thesis. Bye.” And the feed abruptly cuts off. Ah Ganke. Even with a villain outside your door you’d still be more worried about your schoolwork. Miles lets himself stew in his bedroom for a while, trying to drag out the sun slowly going down.

 

* * *

 

 

     He ends up pacing restlessly around his bedroom, his clock’s hands ticking sending vibrations into the air that Miles’ is pretty sure he can feel on his skin. Either that clock has problems or his nerves are sending his enhanced senses skyrocketing and it feels like he’s in a hyperreality. Are the walls really closing in or was he just pacing so fast the room feels smaller? He’d spent the last few hours frantically running through every possible response over and over. Talking with Ganke had helped clear his head on the decision a _lot_ but, eurgh, no no no nono  
“no no no no. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can do it! I can do it! Oh……he’s going to be so mad…”

     Miles’ mother was called into another late-night shift so his dad was the one handling the food tonight. When he’d told Miles he’d begged to UberEat their dinner instead, which consequently launched his dad into a tirade of those possibly shady restaurants not having good hygiene regulations, “how are you supposed to know if they’re good if we can’t even see the state of the place?”. Miles tried to defend by telling him that he hasn’t even tried it yet but then his dad emphasised that this was a family dinner, and there was nothing more wonderful than having a homecooked meal and sealed the argument.

     It wasn’t that his dad doesn’t try it’s just that his talents weren’t really in the kitchen. Or maybe anywhere near food creation. There was always something…off about whatever he put in front of them. It was kind of okay sometimes? But then the fact that the food usually tasted like he’d put an extra secret ingredient in there always freaked Miles out a little. There was currently noise coming from the kitchen that had a lot of clanking and other sounds that he wasn’t sure was supposed to be involved in making a normal dinner. With 2 major hurdles to look forward to tonight his pacing quickened and his voice became more erratic.

“I am grounded. I am so grounded. He’s going to be worried out of his mind and Spiderman is going to be grounded. I am Spiderman being grounded. But he’s so busy with patrols normally there’s no other time! But I also can’t tell this sh*t straight to his face! He’ll fall into shock or something. No…I _have_ to go tell him. You can do this Miles Morales. Just tell your cop dad who hates Spiderman that “Spiderman’s my secret identity. I love being Spiderman!” He’s going to be so disappointed that it’s me.  I always meet him on patrols as Spiderman but it’s different because I try to deepen my voice to seem cooler. What am I thinking? He’s never gonna accept me as a superhero. He’s gonna take my suit away. At least I have Ganke, we’re best friends. Aunt May can make another sui- Ugh! I’m spiralling! This is the result of having all this crushing pressure on a teenage superhero!”

 

* * *

 

 

     Jefferson Davis slowly walked up to his son’s bedroom while the soup was warming up to gently remind him that dinner was going to be served soon and that he should start cleaning up the dining table. But when he got to the door it sounded like his son was having an argument with someone whilst walking around his bedroom at what, in his opinion, seemed to be quite an impressive pace. The parts of the sentences were slipping in and out of his hearing especially with how frantically he spoke, (Jefferson wasn’t going to admit that maybe cooking shouldn’t sound so disruptive to his hearing ability halfway across a house) and the fragments didn’t make sense to him at all.

“I am…he’s so busy….can’t tell…. straight to his face! …no….have to go tell him…Telling…Spiderman that….Spiderman’s my secret… I love…Spiderman! He’s going… so disappointed that it’s me….lways meet him on patrols… because I try to….my voice to seem cooler…. I thinking? He’s never gonna accept me... At least…we’re best friends….can make… Ugh! I’m spiralling! This is…result of… crushing…on a teenage superhero!”

     The door slams open and Miles nearly runs into the frozen statue that is his dad. Fear is immediately evident in his eyes as the possibility that his dad heard everything that he just said in his bedroom becomes extremely likely. Jefferson forces himself to relax his shoulders and puts a smile on his face, pretending that he didn’t hear what seemed to be a…confession of love. His mind dove into abrupt chaos the moment he generated the conclusion, but the one still clear-headed policeman trained portion of his brain barely gets the “Uh, Miles, just wanted to gently remind you that dinner is going to be served soon and that you should start cleaning up the dining table.” past his stiff lips.

     Miles blinks owlishly at him, (Oh Rio, what have I done to deserve such a beautiful boy) and his face seems to contort into ones of his typical half-grins except his nervousness jumps out at him. “Yeah..p. Yeah sure of course.” Jefferson watches his son almost sprint to the kitchen while he’s left there to try to readjust to this new universe he’s just stepped into. Distantly he hears “Aw, Dad what is this! It doesn’t smell right-“ and his feet automatically take him away, a defence premade and already on the tip of his tongue. For a few minutes he can pretend that he’s still living within his old, familiar schedule.

 

* * *

 

 

     Dinner is thankfully normal for the most part. Miles is certainly more fidgety with his food than normal and Jefferson doesn’t want to think about the two reasons why that could be. Just as they’re nearly finished their meal, silverware clinking together in the silence, because Jefferson Davis believes that “Miles, family dinner should be filled with family talk. Not being distracted by the latest reality show they have airing.”, Miles finally speaks up about something other than the food.

“Hey… Dad… about the new Spiderman…do you really disprove of him?” They should have chosen to watch that reality show instead. He sighs, “Miles, this again?” like his mind isn’t currently suffering a meltdown.

“I just think…that maybe you have a slightly unfounded bias against the guy- he’s a superhero who’s always looking out for the city…” Miles trails off. Normally Jefferson is quick to fire back the same old argument: Having an unregulated superhuman declaring themselves to be on the side of the people whilst always skirting around the laws that were made _for_ the people will someday lead them into a path that’s too dependent on these spandex clad vigilante idols to save the day, rather than the day to day hardworking policeman who are specifically trained to handle these situations. And with these heroes having no face, they get to run away at super speeds from personally following through with their jobs.

     The New Spiderman is much worse at this than his predecessor, thinking that every bad guy no matter how petty needs to be strung up with a note attached to their body somewhere that reads “From your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man!” in scrawling handwriting. An Anonymous tip is left, a squad car dispatched, half an hour wasted trying to cut a purse snatcher out of annoyingly sticky threads – No, Jefferson Davis has a very founded bias against Spiderman. This is what he would normally reply with. The last hour or so was decidedly slightly not normal. Instead he says,

“You… really seem to like that Spiderman.” Miles turns his eyes down and mumbles something like “yeah he’sareallygreatguy…”

“But have you met him? Personally?” Miles seems immediately uncomfortable and makes some non-committal noises. “Speak up Miles I can’t hear you.”

“Yeahh? Kind of..?” He probably noticed the surprise in his eyes and hurriedly goes on, “I just see him sometimes on patrols, it’s, not really that close.”

     Jefferson lets out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. ‘So it was only that Miles has a crush on the superhero then no…weird secret relationship that he was keeping from him. Which was great! The universe wasn’t broken after all.  Hold on…didn’t Miles say that they were best friends earlier? Was that only an exaggeration? Wait was it an admiring crush you get for your favourite idols or a crush crush? Did this mean that his son was gay? Or should he say homosexual? The thought had not even occurred to him. But then there was that girl he liked in year 5…bisexual?? The supportive parent part of his brain prepared his speech if Miles came out to him in the future. No, no leave that for later. Miles said something about telling Spiderman? Telling Spiderman he loved him???’

     Jefferson’s mind was turning into a storm and he didn’t notice the deep frown forming on his face in concentration or how Miles paled and trailed off in the middle of his sentence of “-how good Spiderman is, trust me dad”. Instead, the only phrase that stood out to him in the middle of the thundering noise in his head was “What if Spiderman rejects Miles?” His mind is frantically running through all the possible responses over and over and one of them is Spiderman saying in that overly forced deep voice of his “Sorry Miles. You’re just way below the league of a cool superhero like me.” And Miles is crying into his arms “Even though I’m a Straight A Student and a wonderful person I’ll never be as great as that cool superhero Spiderman.” and he was powerless to fix his broken heart and-

“I believe…” Jefferson spoke with careful deliberation, standing up. “That this dinner is finished.” He goes pick up his half full plate and heads back into the kitchen to search for the aspirin. He misses the utterly terrified look on Miles shoots at him as he watches his dad snail-pacingly prepare himself for a long, long rest. And possibly for some future confrontation.

 

* * *

 

 

Later that night Miles texts his roommate:

 

[i chickened out]  
[i tried to bring up the topic of Spiderman but my dad  _hates_  spiderman and he kept on frowning and keeping quiet and i was too terrified to continue]  
[he looked like he wanted to  _murder_  spiderman if he was right in front of him]

 

[Bro if I were you I probably wouldn’t continue either honestly]  
[Nothing in life is more terrifying than the power of parental punishment]  
[Too bad @ tonight You can just try again tomorrow]

 

[yeah..]  
[i just hope that my dad’s hatred towards spiderman will die down if i talk enough about how he’s actually a really good and cool person!!]

 

[So leaving out the story of how Spiderman tried to rescue a cat from the tree by webbing it to a branch and then trying to rip the branch off but instead you nearly bring half the tree down?]

 

  
[…]  
[no one wants to hear that story.] 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooooo 2 years I missed this site! (if any of the readers of my previous work are out there. I'm sorry i abandoned it...the show is over now we can breathe again) And i have way more free time now!
> 
> I know Ganke is the inspiration for Ned but I tried to characterise Ganke by how I think his Spiderverse version is. So totally a fun guy that Loves the adventures of Spiderman but also this super dedicated student. I hope you enjoyed!  
> I may have released this chapter without proper planning but i wasn't doing much in my holidays and suddenly decided to start writing this..! I'll continue to work hard, thinking of all the fun possibilities i could create with these characters
> 
> Thank you for reading and i hope you enjoy your day!


	2. It gets worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaa! At the time of me posting it's 4:20am (maturity)  
> This is what happens when you don't properly plan your stories  
> Thanks SO much to Jetfeather my beta (beta reader? beta tester?) because she's a Life Saver. Thanks T_T
> 
> I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> (btw i also draw sometimes! @nothecreator on Instagram and Lliliiarts.tumblr.com (*>_<*)ﾉ

     When Rio Morales returns home at an ungodly hour in the morning physically worn and barely gripping consciousness, the last thing she wants to see is her husband awake and setting himself up as an obstacle between her and well-deserved rest. She watches him stare almost imploringly into her eyes for a few moments before giving in, once again quieting her voice of self-preservation to go and save the greater good.

“{Querido} “ she sighs, “Just let me take a nice long shower first before I even look at you again okay? {Estoy muy cansado}.” She disappears from the doorway to avoid further contact with that puppy like expression.

     To Jefferson, being a father was The Best thing that he’s ever done. The very first instant he’d set his eyes upon Miles he was still covered in blood and amniotic fluid and his skin still reddish-purple, but the moment he heard the sound of those cries, every thought became pinpointed towards this newborn baby.

His _son_.

     He had watched as Miles Morales breathed life into his body.  He saw those large, shiny eyes first open and look up at his mother’s face as she cradled him like he was everything. And for the both of them he was.

     This police officer vowed that whatever he did, everything was to make sure that this world would be a safe place for his son to live. Nothing should come and harm him. Miles should never have to experience the fear of potential violence while walking on the streets, not like he and Aaron used to. To prevent that Jefferson completely removed himself from his old life, his old habits and even the people he used to be friends with. He even had to ruin the close relationship he used to have with his brother. That tore him up the most. Aaron couldn’t force himself to adapt to the new life that Jefferson wanted for his family and they ended up drifting further and further apart. Aaron tried once to reconnect with him but by then their worlds were opposing each other. A police officer couldn’t associate himself with a minor criminal. Their relationship became an unbridgeable chasm.

     Of course, then came Miles like the wind. No matter how much Jefferson tried to prevent him from going, he drifted towards his uncle’s rule free, curfew less attitude. He’d even started a habit of vandalising property with nametag stickers. That had led to a few rough nights, several lectures and slammed doors. However, throughout this small rebellion against his father’s strict lifestyle, Jefferson couldn’t help but note that Miles seemed like he belonged to both worlds. He had managed to balance his academics against his extra-curriculars with his Uncle; sometimes Jefferson was forced to tersely talk with Aaron again, just because Miles had become the structure that linked them together.  He was terrified of it. Of Miles being the delicate lifeline that hung between them with no support of his own.

Terrified that a single incident could bring him crumbling all the way down.

     Rio returned looking as tired as ever, though slightly more refreshed with the air scented of artificial flowers. She slid onto the bed next to her husband and kissed his cheek before gladly sliding under the covers. As dedicated as she was there was no way she had enough energy to continue a conversation sitting upright.

“Jeff.” She begins gently, “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Rio do you…think I’m doing enough for Miles?” Jeffrey looks down to her with a complicated expression behind his eyes. “Am I there for him emotionally? I-I know he was much closer to Aaron and… would tell him everything.” He chokes a little on his next words, “I look at Miles and I see Aaron’s image within him. I see that connection that they had- I’m worried that we won’t have that connection because I…”

“-don’t see yourself in him?” she quietly asks.

     He doesn’t say anything but his silence is answer enough. Rio holds his gaze evenly for a moment before smiling warmly, reaching up to cup her husband’s cheek in her hand. “When I look at my son, I see his father too. You don’t even realise just how similar you two are.” Jefferson’s eyes widen in disbelief and she laughs softly at him, “It’s true! He reminds me so much of that energy you used to have. He’s still a child {querido}. He’s still learning. At the end of the day Miles loves you _so much_ , but it may take a while before he fully realises just how much everything you’ve done was done for him.”

“I know… I just hope that he’ll also come to us as well if he ever wants to tell us anything.” Seeing as her husband had heard what was needed to be said Rio let herself go, “mhm." As she slowly drifts into slumber, her husband’s voice still moving with energy behind her she thought to herself ‘{Por más que te quiera}, please let your nurse wife get some rest.’

     Unaware that he had no longer had an audience Jefferson continued speaking “-… that’s why I was so worried tonight because Miles could be keeping this great secret that he would never tell us about and I want to be there for him. What if he had a secret crush- that I mayyyy not exactly approve of? He’s a teenage boy it’s bound to happen but I could be there offering him advice. I don’t know how good it would be since I got them from Aaron and he was single his whole life- but it could work. I mean ‘the shoulder touch’ was good right, Rio? Rio?” He looks down at his wife whose face is nearly fully covered by their blanket. “Oh.”

     He turns the lights off out of courtesy and continues thinking to himself in the dark. ‘It’s time to devise a game plan Jefferson. But think of a title for it first. A good title is always essential. Operation Miles and Spiderman? No, way too uncomfortable, it sounds like I want them to be together. Operation: keep Spiderman the Hell away from my son whilst gently convincing him that vigilantes that operate outside the law don’t make good boyfriends or Operation: Stay away Spiderman for short. …That’s a good working title. Next step: planning the confrontation of a masked vigilante…’

 

* * *

 

 

     Miles proudly throws the blanket off his corkboard, revealing dozens of sticky notes with red strings linking between each one. Sometimes a couple of sticky notes had the same string going back and forth between them like the creator wanted to show how important the connection was.  “I call it Operation: Convince my dad with strict moral codes that Spiderman is not the bad guy he’s making him out to be or Operation: Spidey Good Guy for short.” He dances to the side and tries to stop some of the notes from falling off under the weight of the strings- because it’s a corkboard and Miles didn’t use pins. Ganke squints at the incomprehensible setup through his screen.

“Why do I have the feeling you spent more time thinking of the title of this project than actually…you know, planning it?”

“Come on, getting a good title on paper is planning 101, everybody knows that.”

“I don’t believe you have planned anything ever in your life.” Miles completely ignores him, instead going to the centremost sticky note with the title of the project crammed onto it.

“Alright, step one.” As he’s speaking he uses his finger the follow the string around the board, “Gather all the news articles and photos of me, as Spiderman, being a great superhero. Step 2! Show them to my dad in a casual manner as I expertly breakdown why Spiderman has no ulterior motives. That should be easy ‘cause I _know_ I’m a good person. And step 3! Dad is convinced that Spiderman is a great guy, thus making the reveal that I _am_ Spiderman much easier to digest.” He grins brightly as he finishes.

“Wait. That’s _all of it_? What’s everything else on the board?”

“How to deal with when the scenario goes wrong and places to not tell my dad information like “Do not tell dad where he could potentially fall from a great height” stuff like that. I wanted to cover all the possibilities.”

Ganke slowly nods. He’s internally digesting the fact that his roommate might be the worst Spiderman New York from every universe has ever seen.

“Do you take any constructive criticism?”

“Yeah man.”

“This plan f*cking sucks.”

“Hey that’s not-“

“Why do most of the sticky notes lead to the one that says “Turn invisible”? And what’s the group of sticky notes that don’t connect to anything else?”

“My plan to go into hiding if my dad ends up hating my guts forever.”

“Miles. I don’t think your dad is physically capable of hating you.”

“I sure hope so. My entire plan’s riding on that- Oh! I know!“ He grabs a new sticky note and starts scribbling furiously on it “Why don’t I, as Spiderman, start leaving gifts for my dad while he’s on patrols. It’ll be like a token of appreciation for a fellow of enforcer of the law!”

“So you’re trying to buy his affection now.” Miles just continues over him.

“But I don’t know what he would like. Do you think my dad would appreciate free coffee?”

Ganke collapses on his table and grumbles.

“This is too much to deal with on an early Saturday.” He closes his laptop and returns to his bed, diving under the covers while Miles continues ranting oblivious to his absence.

 

* * *

 

 

     Ultimately, Jefferson’s “game plan” ended up consisting of 90% hoping that Spiderman was on the next patrol he would be on, which was surprisingly often: it almost felt like the kid was following him around, while the other 10% was using whatever data he could get his hands on in the police precinct and, let’s not call it _stalking,_ just doing some very close monitoring to hopefully find out what that Spiderman’s deal was. New York may have quickly accepted their new hero, but he was more sceptical. Someone with that much unchecked power could turn on them at a moment’s notice and everyone except the police would be powerless to stop him. It was his duty to make sure this hero was who he really said he was. For multiple reasons.

     During breakfast Miles seemed strangely excited about the upcoming patrol he was going on. It was heart-warming, Jefferson wasn’t complaining at all, if slightly unusual especially how enthused Miles seemed while poking fun at how tired he was. It was as if the events of the night before were swept under the rug and Miles was completely unaware of how stressful the previous night’s revelations were to Jefferson. ‘Teens. It’s probably a puberty thing.’ His mood was lifted though, when Miles gave him a rib-crushing hug just before he left, and Jefferson had to try and pretend that he wasn’t struggling to breathe again as they exchanged “I love you”s.

     He finally exits his house to find his squad car parked further down the street, when he is greeted with a sight that stops him short.

There’s a fresh cup of coffee on the roof of his car.

     Now that wasn’t too strange, Jefferson guesses, a person probably placed it there temporarily and forgot to take it back. Still, he approaches it somewhat cautiously because he has a feeling deep in his gut that this wasn’t just some ordinary coffee left by just some forgetful pedestrian. As he nears his car, he can make out the label on the cardboard.

“Foam Party.” He reads. ‘So that weird millennial fad masking as a café.’ The coffee is called something strange that sounds more like a spell than a drink. Yep, he definitely does not want to try this likely poisoned concoction. He moves to throw the drink away. Then he tries again.

The cup was stuck to his car.

“No.” Jefferson said, trying to mentally reject the reality of the situation. Upon closer inspection he sees that the coffee is actually _webbed_ to the roof of his car.

“ _Spiderman._ ” He grits out. Because who else?? What other people-pleasing, web slinging, law skirting vigilante could do this?

And what was this coffee? A gift?

     Jefferson attempted to remove the coffee several times but it was an exercise in futility. He even tried using his baton to hit it off but all that resulted in was hot liquid splashing everywhere like a stinky piñata and the battered remains of the cup still stubbornly attached to the roof. He’d thought about using a knife for a moment before deciding that his pride wasn’t worth potentially damaging his car. So here he is driving to work with coffee running down his previously pristine squad car. He’d decided to consider Spiderman as his archenemy. It made it so much easier to look forward to confronting him.

     Jefferson’s radio crackles to life. “We need all units near 7th Ave to respond to a large disturbance involving the new Spiderman.” Perfect timing.

“On my way.”  Jefferson Davis hates being a bad driver, even when pursuing criminals, but everyone better start praying to their higher beings because he’s going to run every damn red light that gets in his way.

 

* * *

 

 

     Spiderman was in the middle of a freaking inferno. A whole building was on fire and the arachnid kid was just standing there in a face off against another ridiculously suited person. A fireman moves to stand beside him.

“Jeff, you’ve met SpideyBoy before, is he like fireproof at all? ‘Cause my squad doesn’t know if we should start with that fight still going on but we also don’t want to have to drag out a roasted superhero.”

“I don’t _know_ , man. He survived an explosion so maybe? But it was less of an explosion and more like…buildings.”

“Oh actually never mind Joanne’s already on the way with the ladder.” They both helplessly watch as one of the firefighters parkours over the rubble around the building.

     Miles Morales was currently trying to duke it out against a masked man who calls himself ‘The _Slinker_ ’. The environment around him was truly a testament to how he lives up to his title. He was also consistently chucking out fire bombs at him which was _not cool,_ man. Miles is trying to give Spiderman a better name by minimising property damage and here was this guy, ruining the day, by tearing down _an entire building_.

Oh my gosh that’s his dad watching him. Oh sh*t.

 He dodges another projectile, flipping onto a table as the wall behind him completely collapses.

“Cool it with the bombs!” He shoots some webs at The Slinker but the guy sidesteps so fast it was like Miles was aiming at a mirage the whole time.  “If you bring the whole building down, we’ll both die!”

“Never!” Slinker yells. He lunges at him before suddenly disappearing from thin air. _Behind you_. Miles twists around just in time to parry the blade aimed at his neck; in one movement he turns invisible and delivers a strong jolt of electricity that sends The Slinker blasting into another wall. It shudders and starts cracking. At least the guy was unconscious now- no way. He’s getting back up.

“I’m so glad I packed insulators!” The Slinker laughs, stumbling on his feet, head whipping around as he tries to hunt down the still invisible Miles. “Now where’s that bug that I want to crush- Ughf!” He crashes onto the ground as Spiderman materialises in front of him. Leg sweep- dodged, Spiderman full body throws him into the ground again- they exchange blows- it’s a flurry of fists and suddenly they’re rolling around in the flames trying to strangle each other in a tangle of limbs and obnoxiously long cape-

“Can you two finish your fight! We’re trying to save a building here!” They both pause and turn to see a firefighter climbing through a shattered window.

“Sorry lady!” Miles yells back, “I’ll be done in a second!” (“No he won’t!”) The terrible cacophony around them was signal enough that they needed to end this fight. Right now.

“I didn’t want to do this man, I hope that insulation is strong enough. “Miles grabs The Slinker’s mask and delivers electro-shock right into his face. There’s a gap of time when The Slinker seemed to have frozen mid-air, then he slams right into the ground. Miles lets out a sigh of relief.

“ _Finally_.” For good measure he wraps the guy’s arms and legs in webbing before carrying him out like a surfboard. As he passes the firefighter he sheepishly mentions, “Uh, the fire was already here when I came here.”

“Please get out.”

“Sorry.” He shoots a web to the building across from them and swings down to the waiting police cars. Coincidentally he also lands right in front of his dad.

Spiderman is grinning at him. Jefferson knows it and it makes him that much more irritated than he already is.

“Greetings Officer.” Spiderman says in that obviously fake deep voice of his, “One freshly caught criminal burrito delivered to you by your Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman!” Jefferson just glares at him which seems to shave off some of that confidence.

“Um… I’ll just leave him right here then.” Spiderman says awkwardly, leaning the pole-like supervillain against the car. It was at this moment he notices the tattered coffee cup sitting on the roof of the car and winces.

“So…” he begins guiltily, “Didn’t like the coffee?”

“No.”

     Spiderman laughs nervously and somehow, he looks even smaller. In the silence the building behind them collapses further. Jefferson leans closer menacingly and glares right into Spiderman’s mask.

“Listen here ‘superhero’. Just what exactly are you planning here hmm? What game are you trying to play? Are you making _fun_ of this police officer?”

“No! No! It’s not that!” Spiderman waves his hand frantically, “It’s like, a gift of appreciation. You know, for a fellow officer….of …the law?” Jefferson blinks, surprised.

“I’m not making fun of you I promise- I’m just…trying to show that I’m a good…person? ‘Cause you always see me as this vigilante who doesn’t listen to anyone and…”

“Were you trying to buy my affection?” Spiderman slumps.

“That’s what Ganke said too,” he mumbles then shoots back up. “Uh-“

“Ganke? Ganke Lee?” Jefferson takes a step towards Spiderman and Miles panics because this was the worst possible time to reveal his identity. His dad was looking at him like _he_ was the criminal, not the webbed up one on the car.

“How do you know him?”

“It’s um uh, different Ganke.” Miles responds despondently. Because how many people named Ganke existed in New York?

“Are you related to him? Do you…go to his school?” Spiderman freezes for a split second but that’s all it took for Jefferson to get it.

     It’s at this moment Jefferson is hit by the realisation that this Spiderman was young. The previous Spiderman started when he was only fifteen and he had assumed that this Spiderman was slightly older. The voice really did make it harder to tell. But now he realises that Spiderman was young young. Maybe his baby son Miles young.

“Wait. If you know Ganke do you know-“

Spiderman vanishes in front of him.

Jefferson isn’t someone who stomps his feet when he’s frustrated but he was damn near.

 

* * *

 

 

[GANKE]  
[GANKE I FUKJNEFD UP]  
[I’M SO DEAD]

[Omae wa mou shindeiru]

[WHAT???]

[Oh my god]  
[Uh nothing]  
[Bro what happened]

[my dad hated the coffee]  
[i think he like tried to destroy it]  
[i was fighting this guy who kept throwing bombs]  
[so a whole building gets destroyed]  
[and my DAD IS THERE]

[Yikes]

[AND THEN HE FINDS OUT THAT I KNOW YOU]

[GANKE?]

[GANKE I’M SO SORRY]

[HOW?!?!]

[IT SLIPPED]

[YOU SLIPPED THAT I KNEW SPIDERMAN IN FRONT OF YOUR DAD.]  
[AM I ON HIS HITLIST NOW]

[i mean, not necessarily]  
[he doesn’t know it’s you, you exactly. Just a Ganke]

[How many Gankes exist in New York exactly.]

[…point.]

[i can save this]

[Please enlighten me.]

[he doesn’t know for _sure_ ]  
[so me as miles can still save myself!]  
[the original plan remember?]

[Are you really sure Miles.]  
[No offence but nothing has exactly “gone according to the plan.”]  
[Just tell him ASAP]  
[Also btw, can’t find any interviews]  
[The only worthwhile thing the internet gives me is Embarrassing Spiderman Moments – 2 Hour Compilation (New)]  
[And most of articles are garbage]  
[Usually just saying how you’re worse than old spiderman]

[2 HOURS??]  
[oh yeah thats cause i haven’t done one]  
[i bet if i swing around i can find a reporter tho]

[Like, right now?]  
[Are you even prepared to do an interview?]

[they ask me questions i answer]

[You are going to die.]

[that’s a little extreme]  
[the worst that can happen will just be added to the compilation]

 

* * *

 

 

     Jefferson decides to take a detour from patrolling to go back home to see if he could get the answers he needed. Everything started with him having a hundred questions and now he had a thousand. He tightens the grip on his wheel. He wanted to be careful about the topic because there was still that layer of uncertainty but now, there was no possible way to mistake that slip of the tongue and his response when asked about it. Spiderman _knew_ Ganke and Miles. He had tried to confront Spiderman during that whole debacle but curse that new Spiderman’s vanishing ability. He’s certain the old Spiderman couldn’t do that. There was no way about it, he just had to talk to Miles directly.

     Jefferson feels slightly guilty about it; getting in involved in his kid’s….”love life”. (that term made him cringe involuntarily.) But thinking about the other consequences cleared his mind. There was no way, Jefferson Davis will allow a vigilante to bring his world of crime into his son’s life. And now that he knows how young the vigilante in question might actually be, it was now his duty to stop him from crime-fighting as well. The fact that the previous Spiderman started and died so young, it really tore a hole in his heart. He died younger than Jefferson was before he had Miles. Spiderman died alone in that Collider, surrounded by his enemies. It was a fate that no one should suffer through.

     Everything about these two days were just infuriating. And to top it all off the person Spiderman caught today disappeared from under their custody. He just…slipped away and they lost all leads on that guy.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Spiderman!”

     Miles glances down to find a gaggle of teenagers waving up at him. Not one to ignore his new fans he swings down and does a few flips before landing in front of them with a bow. They cheer him on, one of them blushes and hides behind a friend.

“Hey guys! You call me down just to greet me?” A teen steps forward enthusiastically.

“Oh my god! Um, well actually we were- ahah just on our way to the…crime scene-“

“The burning building?”

“Yeah yeah that one! Since we’re _huge_ fan of yours.” If it wasn’t for the fact Miles was wearing his suit, it would’ve looked like a group of fans gushing over their idol and his next concert.

“Wow,” Miles scratches his neck, embarrassed, “You’re making me blush. ‘M glad to have your support. Really means a lot.” He was trying to think of more words to say when another teen bursts forward from the huddle.

“Actually the real reason we were going there was to give you some gifts.” Miles jumps up immediately like a puppy.

“Oh my gosh really! Ah, I mean-“ he coughs and leans coolly against a telegraph pole, lowering his voice, “Spiderman appreciates your generosity. You know, protecting a whole city is very hard work- and Woah! That’s a lot-“ Cards and toys were being piled into his arms, and then someone adds a flower bouquet for good measure. For a moment they stare at him struggling to look over the pile.

“Is it too much-“

“No no no! This is fine it’s fine. (Um.) Thanks.. I’ll just carry these back to my house…no problem…” He spins around and pauses; his hands were too full to use web-shooters.

“Like seriously we can take some back if you need-“

“No! I can do it! I’m Spiderman.” As he speaks he wraps the presents up in web-fluid and hugs them under one arm. “See? Perfect!” They politely applaud. (“Oh that’s smart!” “Now I want web-shooters…”) Miles winks and salutes at them before zipping away, their cheers fading away behind him.

“This is amazing, they actually love me! Aw but now I can’t do an interview covered in gifts – I’ll look full of myself. Well, I guess I can swing by home and leave these there first…”

 

* * *

 

 

Jefferson was nearing his street when a black blur catches his eye. _Spiderman. Again._ Wait. Where was he going?

 

* * *

 

 

Miles lands on the roof of his house just as his dad pulls into the street. ‘Crap! He was going to see him!’

 

* * *

 

 

‘What the Hell is Spiderman doing on my roof?’

 

* * *

 

 

     Miles quickly drops down and scrambles behind the house, prying open one of the windows. ‘He’s coming towards the house! I have to get to my bedroom before he realises I was gone!’ He crashes into one of the bathrooms but ignores the pain in favour of tearing out of the room. As he opens his bedroom door he hears the key click into the main lock. Crap! He was still in his costume! He just manages to squeeze in the moment his dad comes into the house.

“Miles? Are you home?”

“Uh…yeah?” he calls out as he frantically tries to rip himself out of the Spiderman suit. In his panic his stickiness activates and he finds his hand stuck on one of the sleeves. ‘No no no nonono’

“Can you come out just a second? I want to ask you something.”

“Uhh…1 more minute!” Miles yells. He then falls over from the force of wrenching his hand off the sleeve and now his legs were sticking together. “No! Why me.” Miles hops his way onto his bed and starts trying to pull his legs apart, voice straining with the effort.

Outside the room Jefferson hears a lot of groaning and what sounds like a body being pin-balled around the room.

“Miles, what the hell is going on in there? That’s it I’m coming in!” He slams the door open to find a slightly dishevelled Miles in his day wear with one of his legs raised like he’d just finished putting on his pants. Miles slowly lowers the leg.

“Um….hi Dad?” he grins casually.

“…Hi…Mi-“ Jefferson chokes.

Miles watches as his dad bug-eyes and turns red, flashes of intense emotions flickering across his face. Shock. Horror. Despair. Anger. And finally, Extreme Murderous Intent. Miles suddenly feels fear grip his heart and the cold chill of realisation running down his back as he realises what his dad is looking at.

In almost comical fashion, like someone pressed the switch for slowing time, Miles very, very slowly turns around until they’re both staring at the web wrapped pile of gifts he had left on the floor.

Jefferson takes a very deep breath. Just in….and then out. Three times. He closes his eyes for good measure.

“Miles.” He begins, the shake in his voice barely perceivable, “ _We need to talk._ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)  
> I sincerely hope that the next chapter will cleanly wrap this fic up but until it doesn't, this is chapter 2 of 3!  
> I hope you all have a lovely day!
> 
> The next chapter will probably take 2 weeks to get out. See you then!  
> Please leave comments: they give me that Drive!


	3. :0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> h

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (this is currently un-betaed because i finished this so late everyone was asleep)

Ganke’s working his way through a list of Spider-man blogs, hoping to dredge up every last positive article on the young hero. He hasn’t checked Spider-man’s progress with being interviewed. He’s avoided any social media with livestreaming features because he’s not sure he could handle the possible disaster of an interview if it was happening right in front of him. If he counted as one less witness to the possible train wreck he’s sure Miles would be grateful, if he survives.

Finding evidence to back up their argument isn’t difficult at all, Spider-man’s saved so many lives that he doesn’t even _need_ to provide any evidence, but in order to form a solid, fail-proof argument against his strict police dad Miles would certainly need all the help of someone who actually knows how to do research, and form a solid plan of attack.  One of the benefits with being Miles’ confidant was that Ganke had detailed knowledge on his background, necessary for crafting cover stories to enact the least suspicion from specific authorities, thus he knew that Mr Davis, while tough like nails on the outside was closer to a gooey marshmallow at heart. Addressing the emotional impact of the hero was therefore not just necessary, but crucial. ‘Don’t worry Miles, I’m putting enough pathos into this to make a grown man curl into a ball and weep’

He’s currently holing himself inside the bathroom in case Mr Davis decides to come to his house to confront him directly, even though it would be unlikely considering he was still on duty. The thought of a policeman coming after you, even for non-crime reasons was still terrifying, and then he’ll have to give his mum an explanation and he _really_ didn’t want to have to walk that bridge. Miles had seriously better fix things up with his dad before it gets any worse.

 

* * *

 

 

Both of them are frozen in place.

Life comes to a perfect standstill as they stare at the object that, with its very existence, just rewrote the rest of their history.

He well and truly could not get out of this one alive. He can do nothing to hide what his dad already saw, but letting it sit there wasn’t doing _anything remotely favourable either._ To his credit, his brain does try for a few seconds to formulate some kind of escape plan before it completely sputters and dies. He turns to face his dad, eyes begging for mercy.

“That’s.” Miles’ voice cracks and goes an octave higher, “not what it looks like…….”

 “Are you SURE MILES??” Jefferson bursts out, also on the verge of a breakdown, “Because to me, it looks like Spider-man just swung by and left you a nICe gIFT with flowers….and a bear….oh god is that a box of chocolates in the shape of his face?” It was.

“Dad-“

“Oh my god you _are_ \- you- you and Spider-man.” Jefferson grabs the door and leans his weight against it just before his legs give out and he slowly slides down. “That’s why you’re so insistent about him…”

“W-well that’s because-!”

“And yesterday night I heard you confessing that you loved him…”

“WHAT?!”

 Wait. He didn’t mean…the rant right before dinner did he? Because from Miles’ memory that had _nothing_ to do with Miles being in a secret relationship with Spider-man. _He_ was Spider-man! He didn’t say anything about being in a secret relationship with himself!

“Then at dinner you brought him up again…W-When did this start? Spider-man’s only been Spider-man for half a year…but.” Jefferson’s expression grew thunderous. He slowly pulls himself to his full height, voice low, “Miles, if you’ve been ditching school to see Spider-man…” ‘Gah! Technically I have been ditching school to _be_ Spider-man?’

“No, deeefinitely not. Pssh me? I’m- I love education.”

Miles quickly wipes at his forehead to clear it of sweat only to feel another layer replace it. Are all Spider-people this sweaty? Was Peter Parker secretly sweating buckets under his suit whenever he dove into action? He’s pretty sure that spiders weren’t known for their extreme sweatiness.

“Hold on. He isn’t still here is he?” Jefferson’s eyes do a quick dart around the room.

“Um-“

“Because if I find him right now… I’m going to have a little _chat_ with him.”

His spidersuit was hastily stuffed into one of the boxes around his room, if his dad found it he would kill him! Or think Spider-man was running around his house in his birthday suit. He’s not sure which one was more tragic.

“He must be invisible.” Jefferson grabs the air to his immediate right, then spins around and swipes near the ceiling.

“Dad. He’s Spider-man. Not a fly. I don’t think he could hide in my room.“

“Well, then he turned into a spider and is hiding-“

“No! Spider-man can’t _turn into a spider_. I’m telling you _he’s. not. Here._ ” Miles tries to block his dad from walking any further into the room, but without being able to use his super strength he can’t put up much resistance, “He already swung away!”

Jefferson ignores him and brushes Miles’ arms aside, though a surprising amount of force was needed behind it. However good a hero Spider-man claimed to be, publicly claimed evidence had no bearing with his case on Spider-man. He’d seen the guy in action a few times, and while amateur, he seemed genuine. However, it must have all been misjudgement if his real nature was to sneak around people’s houses to harbour secret relationships with his fans.

…

He’s making sure that guy will dearly regret that he ever came in contact with his family.

Perhaps he was overreacting, his sound mind reasoned, did he not also realise that Spider-man was a child? Hiding relationships and being foolish is a part of youth. But his emotional centre persisted, overwhelmed with feelings: embarrassment from this whole situation, the self-doubt that Miles would keep such a huge secret so desperately, anger for the same reason, but also fear. The fear covered a range of things and they all formed an incomprehensible picture. He was just scared.

The closet. Not there. In one of the boxes. Not there. Under the bed-

His fingers brush against another box and he pulls it out, and stares into its contents:

[“Dear Spider-man,

Seeing you swing around the city, knowing you’re here to protect me sends my heart flutteri-“]

Miles shrieks and the box blurs out of his view.

“…”

“…”

Jefferson just heaves a heavy sigh, shoulders relaxing all the way down. When he looks back at Miles his face is emotionless, and his eyes are focused on something just beyond Miles’ shoulder.

“Give me a moment, please.” He turns around and quietly walks out of the bedroom to the kitchen, shutting the door behind him gently. There’s a brief pause and then the loudest combination of sounds Miles has ever heard starts up, intermixed with what sounded suspiciously like a man yelling. In a minute it was all over and his dad walks out again holding two steaming cups of hot chocolate. He gestures to the sofa in the living room and Miles drags his feet over, already having an ominous premonition. His dad hands him a cup and they sit there cradling the heat, neither one wanting to be the first to break the silence.

Miles is miserable, his face red with embarrassment. There was no going up from here, he’d reached the lowest point of his existence and it’ll keep getting lower. Like landing at the bottom of the well to find the ground to be a pit of quicksand. To think the plan he’d thought so hard of a name for would be completely evaporated by fate’s cruel hand. What’s the worst that could happen Ganke? My dad found my secret stash of Spider-man fanmail and he thinks I’m dating myself.

 “Miles.” Miles jumps at his dad’s voice.

“Y-yeah dad?”

“I’ll be real with you.” He holds up his fingers and moves them so that they’re barely touching his thumb, “I’m this close to crying-”

“Those fingers are pretty close…”

“-but I’m strong.” Jefferson lets out a breath. He doesn’t have time to discuss anything more right now at the risk of losing track of time, he was still technically on shift after all. That was definitely the only reason why. “And I have to get back to work. But there’s something I need you to do: give me a direct line to Spider-man.”

“What? But…”

“I won’t look into his identity. I just want to have a chat with him.”

“Y-you…you don’t want to jail him do you?” Jefferson laughs, but it sounds a little forceful.

“Noooo! Of course not! Me? Wanting to jail Spider-man? Ha!” Miles tries to laugh along with him but it comes out as nervous whimpers instead. “I just want to ask him how’s his day been after setting a building on fire…that’s all.”  ‘ _That really sounds like you want to jail him dad!’_

“Miles, I promise you I won’t look into his identity. But I want to know what kind of person he is. Let’s just think of it as…boyfriend meeting the dad.”

“I…really don’t want to think about it like that.” _‘Me neither Miles. To be honest, I’m not sure why I’m asking.’_

“Fine. But I’ll be here making sure you don’t go anywhere near him anymore until I know more about him. You _know_ how I feel about Spider-man.” _‘Yeah…perhaps a little too well.’_

Miles fidgets, his hands playing with the cup as the weight of his phone draws his attention more persistently. Speaking to his dad behind a screen, it seemed perfect. No worrying about giving yourself away too early, no worrying about the accent he needed to put on to hide his real voice and no criminals getting between their meetings. They both never had time to talk to each other as police officer and Spider-man. Maybe this was the best option right now, letting Spider-man slowly into their lives even if it was probably the worst possible way. But how to do it? He had no burner phone ready, something Ganke had told him about when they first started teaming up- wait. _Ganke_.

_Ohh._

 

* * *

 

His phone buzzes and he glances down to see the screen displaying Miles’ number. ‘Great. It’s probably about his interview.’

[Hi Ganke, I’m in a crazy situation right now and I need your help.] ‘Yep. Fully punctuated too so it was definitely something embarrassing.’

[I do not even want to ask what happened]  
[But, what happened?]

[so you seeeee]

…

The typing icon pops up and stays there for the next 10 seconds.

[Oh my god.]

…

[Miles you’re scaring me]

…

[CAN’T YOU SUMMARISE IT]  
[Don’t force me to play this waiting game]

[Okay I’m going to ignore this now]

[i was on my way to be interviewed when a bunch of fans greeted me so of course i stopped and said hello and they gave a whole bunch of gifts which i had to web in order to carry it and use my web shooters, but like i can’t go to an interview like that right so i head home to hide it in my bedroom but apparently my dad chose this this moment to drive home and he sees me on the roof of my house and i had to change back into miles or else he’ll file a missing persons report BUT THEN he sees the presents i left on the floor so now he thinks i’m spider-man’s secret lover and he wants to have his number]

…

Ganke stops typing for a second as he allows himself to slide to the floor, his entire frame shaking from withheld laughter.

[Hmm.]

[I see.]

[THAT’S IT?]

[Believe me I’m on the floor nearly in tears]  
[How is your luck so F-Rank]  
[Someone out there hates you Miles]

[Right you’re asking me to help you. What should I be doing?]

[yea]  
[can i give my dad your number so you can pretend to be spiderman]

~~[it’s only for a bit until i can set up a burner phone]~~

**[Message failed to send. You have been blocked by this user]**

* * *

 

 

Crap.

There goes that plan.

Obviously, he can’t give his dad his own phone number but other than that Spider-man was pretty much an online cryptid. He had no social media, no email, no nothing. Putting his presence online would leave him vulnerable, and he wasn’t knowledgeable about how to prevent being tracked: that was more Ganke’s field of expertise.

“Sorry dad, he doesn’t want me to doing it.”

Jefferson glares at him and suddenly it’s like he’s a prey caught in the jaws of the predator. _‘Think think think-‘_

“B-but I can give you his Strife account?”

“What is Strife?”

“It’s a chat app. Like QQ except for like…young people.” Ganke used it as his only method of communication, and some of his classmates too, on the surface it was fairly anonymous so Miles could give his dad his own account.

“Why doesn’t he use QQ?”

“Uhh….because he’s cool.”

“Fine. Miles, help your dad make an account that’s cool enough to talk to Spider-man.”

 

* * *

 

 

[Hello Spider-man this is Miles’ father | ]

‘Nope.’ Jefferson backspaces. ‘This shouldn’t be so hard right? I’m a cop, I’m a grown ass man. The thought of talking to a superpowered kid who’s dating your son should not be difficult.’ Oh but it was. Every time he approached a red light his phone would be out and his thumbs would float over the keyboard, ready to begin typing. But in the past 5 traffic lights he’s stopped at they’ve only floated, never once making contact with the pixels on his screen. It was hopeless. Nothing he said seemed right.

The complete unfamiliarity of this predicament makes him feel youthful, nervous as he experiences everything for the first time. The memory of a young Aaron wrapping an arm around his shoulders comes to mind. He’s grinning like he’d never experienced hardships, while he freely offers relationship advice for his brother. In a situation like this he’d probably immediately type out a message and send it without thinking about it too deeply, confident of an ideal response. Probably something like: [Yo Spider-man, I’m your boyfriends Uncle]

It was strange to think that he could experience something new even at his age. But being a parent was unpredictable like that sometimes (though probably not _this_ unpredictable), he was revisiting the tempestuous world of youth through Miles. However, Jefferson didn’t care if that Spider-man was “cool” or whatever with his superpowers, no one was too cool for parents. And if he was going to do this the ‘parents’ way he would need Rio’s help.

 

* * *

 

 

Miles flops onto his bed. Crisis….diverted? It definitely wasn’t averted. Sooner or later he had to tell his dad that he was Spider-man and he knew that he’ll probably burn that bridge as well. He’s already worried how far he’ll be able to drag this whole charade out, if his dad wants to meet Spider-man in person then…that’ll definitely make things awkward with the whole ‘can’t be in the same room’ situation and all. Not to mention how he’s going to end up breaking the truth to his dad: “Hey dad, you know the guy I’m dating? Yeahh actually it was just me the whole time.”

Speaking of, his dad still hasn’t texted ‘Spider-man’ yet, but he doesn’t blame him, he wouldn’t know what to say in that scenario either. Thinking about this whole situation just makes him want to go through with his plan to go into hiding. Miles rolls around, clutching at his bedsheets.

“Ughhhhh! I’m a failure at being Spider-man…” What would the others say? Gwen would probably shake her head at him sympathetically, but then team up with Ganke to document this trainwreck, Peter B. would definitely burn that documentary onto a disc and give everyone a copy, Penny would somehow convert that documentary into a holographic video and upload it onto whatever streaming service used in the future, thus further immortalising Miles Morales: A Tragicomedy. He’s not sure what Mr Noir and Mr Porker would do: in the short time they’ve known each other Miles could never quite gauge them properly, which was probably intentional on their part.

Is this it? Is he going to be labelled as the most embarrassing Spider-man in all of the multiverse? How is he going to be able to convince his dad that Spider-man was an all round good guy and a capable superhero if he didn’t even believe it himself? Peter Parker was probably stellar at breaking the news to his loved ones, and they probably had an easy time accepting it because he was so capable. The only mistake Peter had ever made was dying too early, leaving this amateur to continue his legacy.

But…

Miles glances at the pile of gifts still laying on the floor, untouched ever since he’d dropped them there. He wasn’t a complete failure of a superhero was he? Spider-man was still a symbol of hope for the people of New York. This city was _his_ home. He’ll still be here to protect it until his dying breathe because it was what he had to do. The reputation he has would never affect what he believed in. _That_ is what Spider-man means. That is who Miles is. Who his father is too. He just had to make him understand.

“No matter what… Spider-man always gets back up…” ‘That’s right Miles! You’ll get over this. This is an embarrassing mistake but it’s not fatal. Nothing’s really changed: you’re still going to convince dad that Spider-man’s cool and then tell him that you’re Spider-man.‘

Miles sits up and grabs his phone. No new messages.

He checks his other chat. Ganke’s still blocked him. Miles winces. He should go and apologise to him for that earlier request.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m not here.” he says to the loud tapping at his door. Ganke doesn’t even need to open it to know who it is. There’s a thump and a whine, a combination commonly indicating that the person is slowly sliding down the door to paint a pitiful picture of a person in crisis.

“Ganke please let me in I’m sorry for my earlier messages.”

“Why did my mum let in you anyways, she doesn’t even know who you are.”

“She found me on Facebook and my timeline has our photos.”

“Right, I forgot she’s on that archaic site all day.”

“Why’re you hiding in the bathroom?”

“Because I’m convinced your dad is still out for my blood. Also, for some reason the wifi is the fastest here.”

“Oh. Well he’s not looking for you anymore.”

“Thank god- Why?”

“Because now he’s more worried about the whole me being in a relationship with Spider-man.”

“Right…” Ganket snorts, “That’s right.”

 “Yep. So can you please unblock me?”

“…I’ll think about it. If you decide to pull something like that again I’d like to give you advanced notice that I’m capable of putting together my own Embarrassing Spider-man Compilation which will be even more devasting than every other one combined.”

“…got it.”

Ganke pulls the door open and Miles falls flat onto the tiles.

“Was that all you came here to ask me?”

“No…” Miles rubs his nose and looks up with the most puppy dog eyes he can muster, “Since my dad is going to talk to Spider-man on Strife this is my best opportunity to let him get to know Spider-man.”

“Ah so you want to know how my research is going? I have the notes prepared but I haven’t finished stringing them all together yet. It’ll be perfect in another-“

Miles’ phone pings and he whips it out, staring at the screen with fervent eyes.

“-day…. What is it?”

Miles’ hands are shaking and the strangest expression is sitting on his face.

“My dad. He’s speaking to Spider-man.”

“WHAT? You’ve already given him your account?!”

“W-well he had me cornered!”

“But our argument isn’t fully prepared yet!” Ganke lifts his glasses and pinches between his eyes, “Alright then, what did he say?”

“Um…” Miles flips his phone to show him the message notification.

[Hey Spider-man, what’s up]

[This is Mile’s (your boyfriend) dad.]

“…What.”

 

* * *

 

 

Jeffery stares at a sent message for a moment.

“Rio are you positive this is the way to go?” Rio shakes his shoulder playfully.

“Yes! You’re a big, strong, policeman. If you don’t want to scare him off you should be friendly. Try using some of the language teens use.”

“What, their slang?”

“You know any good ones?”

“I don’t know, there’s one I heard often last year: sounded like “yote”?”

“What does that one mean?”

“I have no idea- Rio I don’t even speak to Miles this way don’t you think it’ll be a little….weird?”

“Weird? If it’s too strange we can dial it down, but this isn’t Miles: it’s his boyfriend! We should make a good first impression.”

“Hmm…. Maybe you’re right. So you think I should use yote somewhere?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA  
> This is what happens when you don't plan a fic before writing it!!!
> 
> i'd started writing, then i'd run into an unmovable wall. Then uni and work started, and one of my uni classes was so boring i had nothing to do but finish this no matter what.   
> Sorry i took so long, I really feel guilty about it.
> 
> For the 5 fans still with me, this fic has indeed been extended a bit, so yes if my brain can think of more shenanigans i'll be sure to write it up
> 
> as always, thank you for reading! And i hope you all have a lovely day! <3


End file.
